Flat Rock agrees to pay $1.15 million for golf course

Published: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 7:43 p.m.

FLAT ROCK — A month and a half after deciding to build a municipal park, village councilmen agreed Monday to pay the owners of Highland Lake Golf Course $1.15 million for the 66-acre property, beginning with a $525,000 payment at closing on June 30.

Council voted unanimously to enter into a purchase agreement with Course Doctors Inc. to purchase all property and buildings on the golf course except for practice range lights and a “pole barn,” which the current owners must remove at their expense.

Course Doctors owners Jim Sparks and Tom Davis had the golf course on the market for $1.3 million, but Henderson County optioned the property in 2011 for $1.1 million before abandoning plans for its own park and soccer complex there after citizens objected.

“That's the number that they've stuck with throughout the negotiations,” said Mayor Bob Staton, referring to the $1.15 price tag. “We tried to talk them down, but we didn't get far. That's why it took a month.”

After months of study and public input, village council agreed March 14 to acquire the golf course for a dawn-to-dusk park with walking and biking trails, playground equipment, picnic tables and other passive features. But the purchase price and terms of the sale were still to be ironed out.

Under the agreement finalized Monday, the village will pay Course Doctors $525,000 in cash at closing, with a non-interest-bearing promissory note to make a second $475,000 payment on Jan. 15, 2014, then another $150,000 on Jan. 15, 2015.

In addition, the village agreed to lease back the golf course to Sparks and Davis through Nov. 15 for $500, “plus an amount equal to 1/12th of the annual county and village ad valorem taxes” for the duration of the lease. The lease allows Course Doctors to honor golf memberships they sold, with play lasting through Sept. 30.

In the meantime, Staton said the village plans to establish an advisory committee with the goal of preparing a master plan for the property and “determining what the phases of development might be, along with estimated costs for budgeting purposes.”

Protecting open space at the village's gateway was cited by councilmen as a key reason for purchasing the golf course. Though two-thirds of the land is within a floodplain, Staton said Course Doctors could have built up to 44 multi-family condos or townhouses on the land closest to Greenville Highway.

“They had other plans for use of the property, which I understand would not have included its continued use as a golf course,” Staton said Tuesday. “They said it would be authorized under our zoning ordinance and they weren't interested in developing the property, so the only (other) thing that's permitted is agricultural use.”

Before becoming a golf course, the property was grazed by cattle back in the 1960s, Staton said.

Under the agreement, the village will pay for soil testing to make sure there is no contamination from pesticides, herbicides or gasoline used in golf course maintenance.

Staton said no one foresees that being an issue, but “if there's something serious enough, we could ask the owners to correct it and if they say no, we could walk.”

<p>FLAT ROCK — A month and a half after deciding to build a municipal park, village councilmen agreed Monday to pay the owners of Highland Lake Golf Course $1.15 million for the 66-acre property, beginning with a $525,000 payment at closing on June 30.</p><p>Council voted unanimously to enter into a purchase agreement with Course Doctors Inc. to purchase all property and buildings on the golf course except for practice range lights and a “pole barn,” which the current owners must remove at their expense.</p><p>Course Doctors owners Jim Sparks and Tom Davis had the golf course on the market for $1.3 million, but Henderson County optioned the property in 2011 for $1.1 million before abandoning plans for its own park and soccer complex there after citizens objected. </p><p>“That's the number that they've stuck with throughout the negotiations,” said Mayor Bob Staton, referring to the $1.15 price tag. “We tried to talk them down, but we didn't get far. That's why it took a month.”</p><p>After months of study and public input, village council agreed March 14 to acquire the golf course for a dawn-to-dusk park with walking and biking trails, playground equipment, picnic tables and other passive features. But the purchase price and terms of the sale were still to be ironed out.</p><p>Under the agreement finalized Monday, the village will pay Course Doctors $525,000 in cash at closing, with a non-interest-bearing promissory note to make a second $475,000 payment on Jan. 15, 2014, then another $150,000 on Jan. 15, 2015. </p><p>In addition, the village agreed to lease back the golf course to Sparks and Davis through Nov. 15 for $500, “plus an amount equal to 1/12th of the annual county and village ad valorem taxes” for the duration of the lease. The lease allows Course Doctors to honor golf memberships they sold, with play lasting through Sept. 30. </p><p>In the meantime, Staton said the village plans to establish an advisory committee with the goal of preparing a master plan for the property and “determining what the phases of development might be, along with estimated costs for budgeting purposes.”</p><p>Protecting open space at the village's gateway was cited by councilmen as a key reason for purchasing the golf course. Though two-thirds of the land is within a floodplain, Staton said Course Doctors could have built up to 44 multi-family condos or townhouses on the land closest to Greenville Highway.</p><p>“They had other plans for use of the property, which I understand would not have included its continued use as a golf course,” Staton said Tuesday. “They said it would be authorized under our zoning ordinance and they weren't interested in developing the property, so the only (other) thing that's permitted is agricultural use.”</p><p>Before becoming a golf course, the property was grazed by cattle back in the 1960s, Staton said. </p><p>Under the agreement, the village will pay for soil testing to make sure there is no contamination from pesticides, herbicides or gasoline used in golf course maintenance. </p><p>Staton said no one foresees that being an issue, but “if there's something serious enough, we could ask the owners to correct it and if they say no, we could walk.”</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>